Precious Things
by zeropointchoirgirl
Summary: Keiko attends college in England, straining her relationship with Yusuke who's become suspicious of someone in her life who's not what they seem. Yusuke travels to England, with unexpected help following behind. Keiko/Yusuke
1. Goodbyes

[**Author's Note:** _Well, this is a story that has been nearly three years in the making, one that I published in 2008 but never updated beyond chapter one. I looked over it recently and felt like it needed updated, and badly, might I add, and hopefully this time I will update it when I get the time. I am not sure how long the story is going to be, as I'm still working on the outline, but it'll most likely be around twenty chapters towards the end. I really liked the idea that I got originally, a story that starts out between Keiko and Yusuke's relationship to Yusuke and Genkai's mother/son relationship and etc. Hopefully I'll actually stick to this one, and I appreciate critiques, because I can't improve unless you tell me what needs improving. I'm not the same person I was three years ago so this new adaption of this chapter is very, very different than the original one, which I'll leave up to show how I've grown as a writer. Sorry this chapter isn't very long, but the less I write, the more I seem to get done. Hopefully I'll have longer chapters down the road, but bare with me, and if you've read the first chapter to this story before I highly recommend you read this one instead. Thanks. __**xx**_]

* * *

Keiko sat anxiously at her desk, waiting for the night to end. She couldn't sleep knowing that tomorrow things would change for her. She had been accepted to a prestigious college in England where she would study law for the next four years. Keiko was overjoyed to be moving forward with her life, but she couldn't help feeling she'd leave part of who she was behind. She knew she'd have to leave her family and her friends. But most of all, she'd leave Yusuke behind.

A part of her wanted to stay with Yusuke, but the other part knew this is what she had to do. She wanted to get away for a while and do something new with her life. That part of her wanted to leave - that wanted to travel and discover new places. Originally Yusuke encouraged her to go, hoping that being away from supernatural threats would help her studies. She didn't want to let go of Yusuke, but she knew that nothing was going to change her mind about boarding that plane in the morning.

* * *

Keiko arrived at Genkai's temple early the next morning, packed and ready to leave for England. It was a beautiful day; a day so beautiful that it made Keiko realize how much she'd miss Japan once she left. As she walked towards the temple entrance, she took in her surroundings and sighed, looking upon the trees and mountains for one last time. She was going to go into a world far different from her life in Japan, and it excited and frightened her all at the same time. She assured herself that she was ready for this change, regardless of how much she'd miss her friends and family.

As she walked through the entrance, all of her friends – Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, Genkai, Kuwabara, Yukina, Botan, and Shizuru – were waiting for her. The girls, minus Genkai, approached and hugged her, and Keiko embraced them with her warmth and love. She felt touched and teared up a little. She received a nod from Hiei, a parting handshake from Kurama, and a jolly hug from Kuwabara.

Genkai looked at Keiko and smiled. "Looks like you'll be leaving us for a while. Good luck." Genkai smiled gently and nodded in her direction.

Keiko smiled back. She turned to Yusuke, who had been standing in the middle of the guys, watching her, staring solemnly in her direction. "Aren't you going to say anything to me, Yusuke?"

Yusuke broke the somber atmosphere around him with a grin. "Of course, dingbat," he said, holding his arms, signaling her to approach him. She embraced him cherishingly, and his grip around her was firm. "Don't get into any trouble while you're there, okay?"

Keiko smirked and giggled. "I'll try." It was nearly time to leave, even though she had just arrived. Breaking the embrace, she grabbed her things and stared longingly at everyone.

Botan grimaced, speaking sharply, "What? You're leaving us already?"

Keiko nodded, sighing, "Yeah, the plane leaves in 30 minutes. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer."

"Don't worry about it. We're just glad we were able to see you at all," Kurama spoke softly.

"I'll miss you, kiddo," smirked Shizuru.

"We'll all miss you, Keiko. Be safe, and please take care of yourself," Yukina spoke softly.

Keiko smiled. "I will, I promise."

As everyone exchanged goodbyes with Keiko, Yusuke quickly interrupted, hastily approaching Keiko. "I believe you're forgetting your parting gift," Yusuke smirked. He leaned in and kissed her, caressing her cheek and hair. "I'm going to miss you, you know."

Keiko smirked, "As if," she stated playfully, grabbing his hand.

"Eww, gross couple stuff," Kuwabara joked.

"What are you, five?" Hiei remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Enough. We're already leaving Keiko with enough of these fun memories as it is," remarked Genkai.

"It's okay Genkai, thank you though," she said, pausing and looking at everyone's faces for one last time, taking in a deep breath. "I'm going to miss you all so much. I'll keep in touch with everyone."

"Likewise. I'll call often," stated Kurama.

"We'll keep in touch by letter," said Genkai.

Yusuke smirked, "Didn't they have phones back in your day, grandma?"

"Very funny, dimwit."

"Guys, really – thank you so much. I appreciate your kindness," Keiko interrupted before anything else could be said. "I better be going now or I'll miss my flight."

"Goodbye!" everyone exclaimed in unison.

Keiko smiled, waving at everyone as she walked out the door. She could hear everyone still wishing her farewell, and it tore her up inside to know that it would be an entire semester before she could see them all again.

As she walked farther away from the temple – farther away from her home, she recalled everyone's faces vividly in her mind, smirking as she thought of what everyone had been through in the last several years. The good times, the bad times, and the even more bad times that they had been through together, it made her very nostalgic as she turned every corner in her memory.

* * *

Keiko finally approached the airport. She felt warmth in her heart, feeling sure that great things were coming for her, and it left a wonderful taste in her mouth. She was sure that nothing supernatural would happen to her at all; that she could maybe finally lead that normal life that she had always dreamed of since Yusuke first died.

But what was ahead was something even Yusuke and his friends weren't prepared for –something that they hadn't faced before, waiting for Keiko at the end of her aerial journey across the world.


	2. Surprises

[**Author's Note:** _Sorry for not updating. I've been really busy with school. I'll try to continue this story, and hopefully it'll progress like I planned, I accidentally lost my brain storming paper so I had to start over again plotting the chapters out. :P I actually think the story will be shorter than I originally planned. I'll let you know soon enough. :)]_

* * *

It's been an entire month and Keiko had already settled well into her new dorm and college. She had made several friends while there, including two best friends, Amy and Lin. Like herself, they were from different countries - America and China, respectively. Amy was of average build with long, dirty blonde hair and green eyes, complimenting her ivory skin tone. Lin was rather short and petite, with brown eyes and short, ebony hair. Keiko had met her friends during her first class and instantly grew close to the girls, sharing similar interests and hobbies with them. They both had boyfriends, much like Keiko, and talked about them on occasion, but when asked about Yusuke, Keiko could not say much about his life and only spoke of him as a person. They never found it odd, as she mostly filled in the blanks with lies or half-truths. She was not ashamed of Yusuke though, but she knew that normal people wouldn't understand the kind of life Yusuke leads. Besides, it felt great knowing that her boyfriend had saved the world on multiple occasions. It gave her a big head about herself.

After afternoon classes, Keiko would stay in the library and study for her evening classes, though sometimes she would skip out and hang with her friends. But today there was a test and she knew she needed to study more, or at least she felt she needed to study more.

A tall man, possibly her age, was standing next to the nearest bookshelf in front of Keiko and smiled arrogantly in her direction. Keiko took notice to his presence and frowned slightly. "Is there something I can help you with?" The tone of her voice was obviously mocking.

The man smiled. "I just couldn't help but notice you around school. You're very pretty. Would you like to go out with me sometime?" He seemed rather arrogant and proud of his social standing.

Keiko couldn't believe he actually said that though. It was definitely one of the possibly most overused and pathetic expressions she's ever heard.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little busy right now," she said softly, less mocking than she had been.

The man frowned. He was hardly cute, and his hair was messy. He seemed like the typical thug. Keiko continued to study and ignored his advances. This seemed to anger and frustrate him.

"What, do you think you're too good to talk to someone like me, little girl?" He approached, his voice and stature becoming violent, clenching his fist as if he was going to take a swing at her.

A hand quickly latched onto the angered man's arm and put a halt to his actions. The man was very tall and seemed to be muscular with almost golden hair. He looked deeply into his eyes, and the man began to back away, threatened, and immediately retreated. The man smiled gently at Keiko, embarrassed, and said, "I apologize for his behavior, that's my older brother, Leo. He has quite the reputation for having a bad reputation." He and Keiko chuckled.

"He was very rude. I'm sorry you're related to that," she smiled and chuckled more.

"No, it's okay. I'm just glad he didn't do anything stupid," he said, looking far down the room to where his brother now silently watches from a comfortable distance. "I promise it won't happen again."

Keiko smiled. "It's fine, really. I don't believe I caught your name though."

"My name is Reynold, but you can call me Reyn," he said happily, smiling at Keiko. He appeared to be a friendly person, and he was better groomed than his brother was. His manners were also far superior to his brother's. Keiko couldn't imagine the two were related.

Reyn smiled and pulled up a chair beside her. "Are you studying for Ms. Nottingham's test today? I can help you study," he paused cautiously, waiting for a sign of confirmation from Keiko, "if you want."

Keiko smiled kindly. "It's fine, I'm actually almost done here," she said shyly. "Maybe tomorrow you can help me with my speech assignment, if you're in that class, that is."

"Of course, anything to make up for my brother's behavior," he said nervously, seemingly embarrassed for even asking.

"You don't have to feel obligated! I promise. Maybe we can just get coffee later, and maybe talk?"

Reyn perked up. He seemed to almost be thrilled about this. "Sure, that sounds great!"

"Okay! Do you mind if I bring my friends along? I sort of promised them I would hang out with them later. Does tomorrow afternoon sound fine for you?"

Though Keiko had believed she might have gave false hopes to Reyn, he seemed genuinely happy to hear there would be more people with her. She was sort of afraid he was interested in her in a romantic way, though it appears she was wrong. "That sounds great," he grinned. He began to sit up from the chair and grabbed a bag beside of him, and turned facing Keiko's direction. "I better get going. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." He began to turn away as he waved goodbye. Keiko waved back shyly.

As she watched him walk away, Keiko kept wondering why she had this knot in her chest, as if something wasn't right.

_Darn it, Keiko, you can't bring that world here with you! You're not in Japan anymore. Not everyone you meet wants to rip your head off!_

Keiko had to be realistic though; she wasn't going to walk into anything with her guard down. She had learned a lot in the last four years, and as a result learned not everything is what they appear to be. However, it's not just this particular moment she felt this way, she's felt it ever since she got on that plane a month ago. Something wasn't right but she couldn't put her finger on it. There was something at this school that gave off an ominous feeling and it left her lightheaded at times. She wasn't sensitive like Shizuru or Kuwabara was, but she did know when something was wrong. At the very least, she would remain alert, but she wasn't going to let herself get paranoid.

_Maybe I should talk to Yusuke or Kurama about it later…no…I can't bring it up to them, they may get worried. I definitely don't want to bring it up with Yusuke…_

* * *

Yusuke was visiting Genkai again, mostly because he had nothing better to do and his mom was throwing another drunken party. Lately he's been staying a lot with his mentor, due mostly to having nowhere else to go. He did at least get to see several of his friends regularly and would often play video games with his favorite old hag. He had been forwarding all of Keiko's phone calls to Genkai's temple because he was rarely home to take any.

It was late evening and Yusuke still hadn't received a call from Keiko, who promised to call every evening during her afternoon break. By eleven, he had gotten so worried he asked everyone he saw if they heard from Keiko. Finally, the phone rang. It was Keiko.

"What's with you not calling me, Keiko?" Yusuke yelled angrily into the phone.

"I was having coffee with friends! Why do you have to have such an attitude?"

"Gee, because you could be getting eaten by demons!"

"As if!" Keiko snorted. "I didn't call for your lip, Yusuke, I was just checking in like always."

Yusuke frowned a little and his voice dropped a pitch. "Yeah, okay, sorry, my bad. Who did you have coffee with? Amy and Lin again?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, and this other guy I met yesterday named Reyn."

"I'm killing him," Yusuke said almost too calmly.

"Yusuke! He's sweet, we're just friends! You know I'd never do that to you," Keiko said affectionately.

"Yeah, well, I'm still killing him."

"Oh, you," she said hopelessly.

"Does he have horns sticking from his head?"

"Yusuke, he's perfectly normal. You've done this with Amy and Lin already. You know, not everyone is the boogeyman, Yusuke," she stated firmly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm still serious about the whole 'killing him' thing," he said, once again with his very calm, almost monotone way.

Keiko sighed, "Yeah, okay, whatever. I'll talk to you again tomorrow. Goodnight." She hung up the phone abruptly.

Yusuke stared at the phone for a second before hanging up. He heard someone behind him moving, and turned around to see Genkai and Kurama standing there.

"Overreacting again, dimwit?"

Yusuke sneered, "I don't think so, old lady."

Kurama chuckled, "Keep this up and you won't have a girlfriend to call you every night before bed." Genkai smirked at his comment.

"Leave the poor kid alone. She's a strong girl, she can handle herself," Genkai said softly.

"Yeah, against humans," he said, his tone of voice becoming more aggravated.

"Yusuke, you need to trust that Keiko will be fine. That's all you can do for her at this point, anyway. There is no point in overreacting and working yourself up over it, she'll be just fine," Kurama said reassuringly.

Yusuke grimaced. "Yeah, well, I'm going to go check on her first thing in the morning and if any of you have anything to say about it, well, I don't really give a damn."

"Yusuke, I advise you not to act so rashly, perhaps we can talk through this?" Kurama said, surprised by his bold decision.

"You do realize of course that you'll only embarrass yourself by walking into that place fist-happy and ready for a fight? I imagine it's hard enough for Keiko to adjust to a new location without the burden of her moronic boyfriend showing up and breaking the faces of everyone that looks at her wrong," Genkai said crossly.

Yusuke scoffed and exclaimed, "I don't need any lectures from you, old lady, so just back off, okay! I'm going whether any of you like it or not!"

Kurama lowered his head. "If that is what you truly wish, there's really no one that can stop you." Kurama felt defeated but knew he didn't have much of a say in the matter, thinking ill of Yusuke's decision to intrude on his girlfriend's life.

"The hell there isn't," Yusuke grunted irately.

Yusuke scoffed and began to walk directly past his mentor and friend, leaving behind a cold air as he left the room.

"Moron."

* * *

Yusuke began boarding the plane for England. He watched as all the people around him pass him by, busy with their lives and what's going on around them. He thought of Keiko and how she must be enjoying herself with her new friends. Now that he's had all night to think over it, he wonders if he was truly overreacting. Although he wanted to believe this, something told him to go anyway, that she needed him. Either way, it was the perfect excuse to get out and adventure a little, as Yusuke had been for the most part cramped up in Genkai's dojo and most of all Japan. He wanted to see the new world Keiko was seeing for his self.

As he began taking his seat, he noticed several familiar energies on board. He looked around as he was seated and saw the heads of his friends sitting right in front of him only a few rows down.

He caught their attention with his presence. Yusuke gasped, "What the hell! Kurama? Hiei? Kuwabara?" They looked back, waved and smiled at him in unison.

_You can't be serious! What are they doing on here?_


	3. Welcome to England

_[[_**Author's Note:**_Okay, well, chapter three finally. Sorry the story is picking up slow, but this chapter will actually get things started. I'm still unsure of the exact amount of chapters but I'm guessing around ten or so. You'll know when I know.]]_

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" exclaimed Yusuke, surprised by his three friend's presence on the flight.

Kuwabara, turning around to face Yusuke in his seat, grinned, "We came to see you embarrass yourself, Urameshi!"

Kurama smiled slightly and chuckled. "Yes, we all agreed we didn't want to miss the show."

"You think this is funny, Kurama?" he asked in an angry voice. He looked over to see a grinning Hiei who had to crawl up in his chair just to see. "And what the hell is Shorty doing here?"

"Simple. Two reasons; to see this country for myself, and I'm here for the same reason everyone else is here, to watch you make a complete fool of yourself." Hiei began chuckling, highly amused by the situation. "Even I need a laugh every once in a while."

Yusuke seemed a little bemused now. "Now I gotta know; where the hell did you guys get the money to even get tickets to go to England, anyway?"

"We all mutually agreed on it. However, considering the three of us are a little short on money, we had some help from Genkai, on one condition, of course," Hiei said with a clear sign of aggravation in his voice. "We ride coach and she'd get first class," he said, especially pissed off now. "It's bad enough I'm stuck on board with these humans, but even worse I'm stuck sitting next to this baboon," he remarked, looking at Kuwabara irately.

"Who are you calling a baboon, you little punk?" exclaimed Kuwabara as he began taking a defensive stance towards the short spike haired demon.

Yusuke had a blank and puzzled look on his face. "Genkai?" His bewilderment suddenly turned into aggravation as he began to walk towards the front of the plane to where his mentor was.

As Yusuke entered the curtained, first-class section of the plane, he immediately saw his mentor comfortably relaxing her head on a pillow and her feet kicked up on the back of an empty seat. She had a sleep mask and headphones on with Yusuke's Walkman by her side. Yusuke became infuriated and jerked the headphones off her head. "What the hell, grandma?"

Genkai took off her mask and reclaimed the headphones, growling, "I need something to listen to while I'm on this damn flight!"

Yusuke scowled, "Yeah, well, that doesn't give you the right to take my Walkman! Where the hell did you get it anyway?"

"You left it laying on the floor again, dimwit," she snorted.

Yusuke grunted. "So you needed something to listen to your vagina music on I take it," he said, crossing his arms.

Genkai looked up at him, sighing, "And yet, so much better than Danzig," she sighed, "and you might want to leave now," she warned, pointing over his shoulder. Yusuke turned around to see a flight attendant was standing directly behind him. She was a rather tall but pretty young lady with short black hair.

"May I see your ticket, sir?" she asked patiently.

"Uh, sure," he said meekly as he took it out of his jacket. He handed the ticket to the woman. She skimmed over it, then quickly handed it back.

"I'm sorry sir, but you need to return to coach," she said sternly. She pointed towards the curtained entrance and motioned for him to head back. "We are about to begin our flight; please take your seat."

Yusuke sighed. He saw Genkai looking at him, chuckling. "Screw you, old hag," he mumbled under his breath. She ignored him and placed the sleep mask back over her eyes and continued listening to his Walkman.

Yusuke returned to coach only to find his friends arguing with each other. Hiei was not willing to sit next to Kuwabara and it seemed Kurama was not willing to give up his seat.

"I'm not sitting by this bonehead, Kurama. Why must you insist sitting next to the window, anyway?" he asked. Hiei was visibly agitated, and it showed greatly in his voice.

"Hiei, you're just going to have to manage with the current seating arrangements, unless you'd like to sit with a bunch of strange humans," he said with a bit of humor in his voice. He knew Hiei would rather put up with Kuwabara than have to sit with other humans.

Hiei grimaced and was finally defeated, much to his annoyance. He sat back down beside Kuwabara, deliberately looking away from his direction in frustration. "I hate that old hag," he snorted.

It was early morning when they finally arrived in London at the airport. The flight was a long and exhausting twelve hours of hell for everyone. None of them really enjoyed the flight, especially Hiei. They were all just glad to finally be back on land and able to walk around again. After the long flight and the excruciating jetlag, they all stopped at a local café and had a very satisfying breakfast.

After they finished eating, they were ready to head to their hotel that Kurama had booked for the gang in advance. The guys were staying together while Genkai had a room for herself. Yusuke, however, seemed to have forgotten about his own travel arrangements…

"What do you mean you forgot to book a hotel?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah, I guess I was in such a hurry I sort of forgot," mumbled Yusuke, avoiding eye contact with Kurama.

"Wow, you really _are_ a moron," stated Hiei coldly as he began picking up his luggage, which was just a simple sack he carried over his shoulder.

Kurama sighed. "Perhaps Genkai would be kind enough to let you room with her? I would not mind sharing the room if there were more beds. I wasn't anticipating this situation, honestly."

Genkai looked at Kurama malevolently. "I _told_ you he would forget and I'm _not_ picking up for your slack, _thank you very much_," she hissed.

Kurama chuckled nervously while scratching his head. "I guess even I can make miscalculations every once in a while," he said nervously.

Genkai snorted. "Hmph. If you think I'm babysitting while we're here you've got another thing coming." She took her bag and began making her way for the taxi that Kuwabara had called for them a few minutes earlier.

"Clearly Genkai's in a sort of disagreement with our arrangements," Kurama chuckled.

Yusuke smiled a little. "Wonder what gave it away?" he laughed. "I like this better anyway. Now I can annoy her and make fun of her taste in music," he chuckled.

"Try _not_ to get yourself killed, detective," Hiei commented.

* * *

The night was unusually cold, and the strong winds stung the group's faces like blades of ice. They wandered on the outskirts of the campus of Keiko's college, looking for signs of danger or suspicion. They were split into groups of two; Kurama with Kuwabara and Yusuke with Genkai. It was in a vast and lushly wooded area, and the college itself was close to the suburban township of its location. This made it convenient for the Reiki Tantei and their reconnaissance of the institution as their hotel was only within walking distance of the forest.

"Where did Hiei wander off to?" muttered Kuwabara to Kurama.

"This isn't the sort of undertaking that Hiei cares for," he said as he brushed his wildly whipping hair from his face.

Kuwabara's expression became almost aggravated, saying, "Why are we even here anyway?" he asked as he clenched his jacket and pulled it closer towards his warmth. "I'm freezing my balls off out here! What are we even really expecting to find out here tonight?"

Kurama looked impatiently at him. He was curious himself as to why he would make such a decision to lurk around the school without consideration of his actions and a fully thought out and concise plan. "We don't know yet. There very well may be no danger, but…," the fox demon trailed off, his mind wandering towards the feeling he and Genkai shared earlier that day upon their arrival.

* * *

"Do you feel that?" she asked the redhead, standing at the airport's terminal.

He nodded, "Yes, I do."

"What is it that you notice about this energy, Kurama?"

"It's human," he replied softly, observing his surroundings in hopes to find the source of the energy, "Mostly."

"It's very discontenting. Maybe there is something here after all." The old woman joined him in the search for the source of the energy, but it was to no avail. Neither one could lock onto an exact location.

"This energy…it feels as though it's all around us," his voice broke, shocked by his own discovery, "As if there was more than one source."

"We need to stay alert and careful, it's hard to say who or what is emitting this energy," Genkai warned, her expression becoming more concerned by the second.

* * *

"So I was right!" exclaimed Yusuke as he stopped abruptly in front of his mentor.

"Not necessarily, dimwit, we aren't even sure if the energy is a threat or—"

"But you said so yourself! There's something wrong about the energy and we can't trust it! Did you not say that or have you gone senile again?" he exclaimed, interrupting his aging master and angering her.

"_MORON_! If I knew you weren't going to take this seriously, I would never have mentioned it!" she barked, forcing Yusuke to step out of Genkai's line of sight. "We haven't even found anything yet," she said, turning towards the waning moon that glimmered off the pines, "Nor are we particularly sure who or what is the source behind this energy," she stated as her concentration seemed to be wandering off towards the moonlit sky.

Yusuke's glare turned towards his master in curiosity, "How is it that you and Kurama could sense it and nobody else could?"

Genkai didn't respond to him for a few short moments until she finally turned around to face her young apprentice. "You weren't looking for it," she stated.

Yusuke stared at his mentor curiously and began scratching his head. "Not looking for it? Wait, you mean that the energy barely registers as anything?" he asked inquiringly, his face riddled with confusion.

"Not necessarily," she paused, her glare matching her young apprentice, "it only means that whoever or whatever is emitting this energy does not want to be found."

Yusuke's composure became more relaxed now as he began rubbing his freezing arms in hopes of warming them. "You said it was human, right? Does that mean we could have another psychic out there or…?" he asked, trailing off in hopes his mentor would fill in the blanks.

"Once again, not necessarily," she sighed, her tone becoming slightly more aggravated between his questions. "At this point, we can only say for sure that the source behind the energy is doing it's damndest to conceal itself, so much so, it seems to be admitting from different locations." She paused for a moment as she began walking past her apprentice who soon matched her pace.

Her voice became louder now. "However, it's uncertain what exactly this energy is. Is it human? Is it something else? Where is the true source of this energy being emitted? These are questions we do not know yet," she paused, clearing her voice, "One thing for certain is that there is something ominous about the energy and that we should be cautious while we are in this country."

As they were walking, searching for any signs of this worrying energy in the cold night, Yusuke began to ponder his master's words. "Be honest with me grandma; do you think Keiko could be in danger?" His tone had changed to a more serious one that Genkai hadn't heard since they arrived. They both stopped in their tracks. The old woman turned around, looking at her pupil's young and concerned face. She was surprised at how his entire aura and composure changed so quickly. He was no longer irrational or acting without thought. She was staring at the Dark Tournament champion; the genius fighter that she choose out of hundreds to become her successor. This was the Yusuke that assured her she made the right decisions in the winter of her life.

She matched her stare with his. She wanted to reassure him that Keiko would be okay. She did. However, neither she nor Kurama could decipher the energy patterns or why there was more than one source for the energy. "I'll be honest with you, Yusuke. I can't say one way whether she is in danger or not." She paused, looking at his disheartened face. He truly didn't want to take Keiko from her new environment, but if he had to, he would, despite how Keiko would feel about it. "If it makes you feel better, maybe Kurama or Hiei would volunteer to stay and watch over her."

Yusuke sighed and looked away from his elderly master. "Let's finish scouting and I'll make a decision in the morning," he mumbled as he began to walk past his master. She smiled gently and followed his lead.

* * *

"Hey, Kurama," Kuwabara spoke, trying to get the attention of his friend as they made their way through the brush in the frigid winds.

"Yes, what is it, Kuwabara?" Kurama moved with ease through the brush when the wind wasn't blowing so hard. They were still patrolling and it was nearly midnight.

"Is there like a party or something going on down there?" Kuwabara pointed towards the bottom of the hill they were atop. At the bottom rest the outskirts of the campus grounds just before reaching the woods. Most of it was a parking lot and a picnic ground.

Kurama looked down to inspect the area, and found many college students, particularly girls, walking in the same direction. He noticed that their pace was almost in sync, and they appeared to be in a sort of trance. He wished to inspect the situation further. "Follow me," he commanded his friend. Kuwabara nodded and followed the fox down the hill, slowly creeping along the shadows of the trees as not to be noticed by the students.

The group was composed of all girls, and many were still in their pajamas. They were walking almost mechanically in the same direction, but to what, Kurama was unsure. He turned to face Kuwabara, who was busy looking around at the group. "We must follow them. There is something controlling these girls it seems," he stated as he began to rise from his crouching position.

Kuwabara's gaze was caught by a familiar face among the group of robotic girls. In a loud voice, Kuwabara exclaimed, "It's Keiko! Wha—," he was interrupted by Kurama covering his mouth and shushing him before he could finish.

Kurama dragged Kuwabara behind a tree in case one of them happened to hear him. He whispered harshly, "You must keep quiet! We do not want to draw attention to ourselves just yet, not until we know in what manner these girls are being controlled and by whom!"

Kuwabara became flustered and pushed Kurama's hand from his mouth to speak. He whispered in a similarly harsh tone, "We gotta tell Urameshi!" Kuwabara's gaze followed Keiko as she walked in sync with the other girls of her college. He worried that something horrible was going to happen to her if they didn't do something immediately.

"Do you have your pager on you?" Kurama asked his friend.

"Yeah, Genkai sorta made me bring one just in case," he said, "but I don't really know how to use it though."

"Well, _learn_," he said as he quickly but without notice jumped into the tree above where they sat and made his way through the forest in the direction the girls were heading.

Kuwabara stood up behind the tree and followed the fox with his eyes. "_What about me!_ What am I supposed to do?" he exclaimed loudly. He quickly realized that he may have exposed himself so he hurried and threw himself back down into the nearby bushes. "Oh _dammit_, I hope I didn't give myself away," he muttered hopelessly. "I guess I better start figuring out this piece of junk," he said as he pulled out the pager from his pocket.

* * *

Kurama glided along the trees in the pattern of the wind with a sort of elegance that only his species of demon seemed to possess. He was careful not to be seen by the girls or an enemy that may have possibly been lurking in the area, carefully watching over the students. It didn't seem that he had been following the girls for long when suddenly they all came to a standstill. Now that they had all finally reached their destination, Kurama was able to approximate the number of girls that were there. It was a very large number, close to 100, who had halted in front of a very large factory that seemed to still be in operation. He kept himself hidden among the brushwood as he surveyed the situation. The girls stood silently and motionlessly like lifeless puppets. They seemed to have been waiting on something or someone, possibly even a command to be directed to them. The building they stood before was massive in size. The name on the front of the building seemed to read "Walker & Co"; however, the lights on the building were dim at best.

The large doors of the factory began to slowly slide open. Kurama took a defensive position to be cautious as he remained vigilant in the shadows. The door took some time to fully open; whoever was opening it wasn't inherently strong to say the least. Once the door finally opened, there appeared several black figures, all cloaked in a sort of uniform that Kurama wasn't familiar with. As he studied the situation, he realized from their scent that the men were entirely human. This piqued his curiosity more. Four men paired in twos stood on each side and signaled the girls to proceed through the doors. They followed orders and made their way through in syncopation with each other. As the last group made their way in, Kurama quickly pondered a way to get in without being noticed. He could have easily knocked the suited men unconscious, however, he could only assume that what was controlling the girls wasn't human, therefore, what lay beyond those doors may still prove to be a powerful enemy. In defeat, Kurama retaliated, locking the location within the confines of his memory for later investigation. He would have to consult the rest of the group about this and the possibility that Keiko could be in great danger.


End file.
